Risk by Association
by Danyaroo
Summary: After a long day, Dr. Holiday finds herself thinking about some of the dangers Noah regularly faces simply because of his friendship with Rex. Warning: May contain friendship fluff.


AN:

I haven't written anything in quite a while but I decided to make an attempt with this. The idea coming to me as I caught up on episodes and realised nobody really seemed to mind or mention when Rex brought Noah along to things such as missions, Providence HQ and the Keep.

Set somewhere in season two since I dont feel I've seen enough of season three to write about it yet. :)

(I don't have a beta, so please let me know of any spelling mistakes and such I may have missed)

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Dr. Holiday regarded the clock on the top corner of her monitor with a small frown as her fingers travelled over the computer keys at a fast and steady pace to document her latest batch of data. It was taking longer than she expected and she wanted to finish up before it got any later. She was tired but she mostly wanted to wrap things up for the sake of the two bored teenagers currently sat in the lab with her.

It had been a rough day for them to say the least. Starting with a 20ft E.V.O that decided Noah was its new teddy bear and ending with the pair spending almost two hours trapped in a walk-in freezer due to a building collapse knocking Rex unconscious.

Physically it had been Noah who had been in the worst condition, unable to even walk without assistance upon the team's eventual return to Providence. His weight supported by a weary faced Rex as they huddled under a thermal blanket with a watchful Agent Six following close behind. But it was clear it had been a trying day for all involved.

By now both teens had been treated by the medical team, given hot showers and discharged. Some of the kinder members of staff even gave them some standard sweats so they could change out of their rather torn up clothing and into something more comfortable and warm.

They hadn't been able to rest however as Holiday had needed to run a few routine tests on Rex to assure his nanites were ok after the close call with hypothermia. She would have preferred to leave him be for the night, but the tests were standard procedure for any case where Rex had been injured in the field and she took her job too seriously to postpone it until morning.

Ideally, Noah would have been sent home as soon as the medics were done with him but Holiday had opted he stay. While his file stated he shared his residence with his parents, she knew through Rex that they were rarely home, almost to the point of neglect, and she didn't like the idea of leaving an exhausted and injured teenager to his own devices. This explained why the blonde was also in the lab, though really Rex had just dragged him along from the medical bay so he wouldn't have to suffer alone.

Observing them over her monitor, she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips as the teens came dangerously close to cuddling. The young men sat together on the floor with their backs to the window overlooking the petting zoo as they leaned into each other.

Rex was looking around with tired brown eyes, his arm slung habitually over Noah's shoulder as he fought to stay awake. The piece of slightly red stained gauze taped to his temple being the only evidence he had been injured, the skin underneath already completely healed by his nanites.

Noah on the other hand was pretty much covered in bandages and medical tape and had completely lost the battle against sleep. His head tilted so his cheek rested against Rex's arm as he snoozed, his body having angled itself to more comfortably lean into the Hispanic boys side.

Neither seemed to care they were in a large room with multiple members of staff still milling around despite the late hour. Too busy either being unconscious or staring into space to care about any attention they were drawing.

Seemingly feeling _her_ stare however, Rex turned to meet Holiday's gaze with a questioning look. Prompting her to smile kindly and gesture to Noah with a tilt of her head. Silently asking how the blonde was since it went without saying that he'd had a rougher time than usual today.

She knew the listed injuries; multiple flesh wounds, three bruised ribs and a sprained ankle. But there was a difference between what a medical professional deemed as ok and what a close friend would.

Rex just glanced down at the other male and shrugged, accidentally jostling Noah in the process and causing him to grumble something irritably before settling back down. Holiday didn't hear what he said, but the distinctly unimpressed look on Rex's face said he had, and it hadn't exactly been complimentary.

Still, Rex didn't look too concerned; yawning as he slouched so he could use the blondes head as a pillow. So Holiday allowed herself to assume the teen was fine.

This time anyway.

Despite Noah no longer being associated with Providence, Holiday had noticed that he was becoming increasingly involved with Rex's missions. This was mostly due to him being with Rex when he was called to work and said E.V.O inviting or dragging him along, but she found it concerning that an essentially normal boy constantly allowed himself to be pulled into danger.

Noah was not an E.V.O, nor did he have any real training and she was finding herself growing increasingly worried for his safety when circumstance landed him directly in the line of fire. In Providence's line of work, serious casualties were incredibly common and unfortunately, even with Rex around, fatalities occurred.

Noah was, for all intents and purposes, a normal civilian and she didn't know whether to chalk it up to Rex's abilities or sheer dumb luck that the blonde teen had continuously escaped being either of those unfortunate regularities.

She worried that if it was just luck, it would one day run out.

To be honest, the only reason she hadn't had a long talk with Rex about trying to distance Noah from the 'work' part of his life was because she knew her efforts would be futile. Even between official assignments, Noah would still end up at risk simply because Rex attracted trouble to himself as easily as he drew breath. And the only viable way she saw to keep Noah completely out of harm's way would be to ask that Rex end their friendship all together.

The thought of separating the two was a sombre one, but she knew if something happened to Noah, Rex's powers not working would be the least of their worries. Luckily for their friendship however, even if not their health, she knew she cared too deeply for Rex to ever force him into making that decision based on 'maybe' and 'what if's.

"Doc, are we done yet? Noah's drooling and it's gross." The boy in question broke her from her thoughts and she turned to see him wearing a look of disgust as a thin line of saliva trickled down his arm.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I just finished." Despite getting a little lost in her thoughts, the monitor was finally showing her what she wanted to see and everything looked well within normal parameters. "It seems you nearly having your skull crushed gave you a bit of a concussion, which explains why your nanites were a little slow to close the wound, but there are no abnormalities and your biometrics are stable." Hiding any anxiety she suddenly felt just by looking at the pair, she managed a smile. "Looks like you're free to go."

Apparently, not even exhaustion could prevent the whoop of joy the young E.V.O released at finally being able to leave. His cry combined with an enthusiastic fist pump waking the boy beside him with a painful looking jolt.

"Damnit, Rex!" Instantly awake, Noah clutched at his ribs as he shot his friend an indignant glare.

Rex's joy seemed to override most of his guilt, but he did at least attempt to look apologetic. "Sorry. But the Doc says we can go. Bed beats floor right?"

Noah didn't exactly look happy, but he seemed to concede the other boys point. Holiday watching as Rex helped him to his feet with careful hands, automatically taking his weight so none of it would be put on his injured foot. It was like they didn't even have to communicate to know what they needed to do, Noah draping an arm over Rex's shoulder as the other boy wrapped a supportive arm around his waist.

From there, they looked every bit a pair of brothers in arms as they bid her goodnight and slowly made their way out of the lab. The sight of them somewhat awkwardly walking away leaving her unsure whether to feel endeared or to let it remind her of her previous thoughts.

Slouching tiredly in her chair, the scientist sighed as she watched the door close behind them, realising she was probably best trying not to over think it. Dwelling on grim possibilities would serve no purpose other than add to her already long list of concerns. And it wasn't really fair to Noah to let herself get into a mind-set that automatically made her assume some terrible fate would one day befall him. Noah was a smart and resourceful young man that had proven he could handle himself.

It was just that seeing him hurt was serving as a harsh reminder of Noah's human vulnerability. In the field it would just take one unlucky hit, one wrong step or even one moment's hesitation for him to be…

Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes so she could focus on the sounds of her co-workers going about their duties and the low, soothing hum of machinery. Letting their familiarity help clear her mind and prevent that particular train of thought from finishing as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

It was like she had just opened a tightly sealed jar in the back of her mind that had contained months of bottled up apprehensions she hadn't had time to actively dwell on. Multiple scenarios beginning to swim to the forefront of her mind and chilling her with repeated visions of a bloody green military jacket and an irrevocably devastated Rex.

She felt a small stab of nausea just thinking about it and the grim reality that such a thing happening was entirely possible only increased her unease. But she needed to focus, right now both of the boys were safe and she had work to finish.

Straightening her posture, she returned her fingers to the keys of her computer and set about finishing the lab reports that had been left incomplete when Rex's nanite checks had taken priority.

First thing in the morning she would consult with Six on potentially fitting Noah into a few of his and Rex's more humane training sessions. She would possibly ask the agent, depending how well her first request was received, if he could call in a favour with Captain Calan concerning a few lessons with more advanced firearms as well.

If Rex insisted on having Noah around through good times _and_ E.V.O brawls, she would at least try to do her part and make sure he had the skills to stay safe.

But that would start tomorrow. For now she had paperwork she wanted off her desk so she could get some sleep.


End file.
